Abraham 37

3 min read

This axis brings together 3 places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse text as quoted

Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your Sacred House

Brief reading

In Shahrur’s view, the verse is understood to mean that the House already existed before Abraham, and that Abraham’s role was refinement and purification, not foundation.

Axes

  • Narrative and historical
  • Methodological
  • Legislative

Associated concepts

  • the Sacred House: 3
  • the prior existence of the House: 2
  • Abraham: 1
  • purification: 1

Its place in the network of concepts

It is linked to rearranging the religious history of the House and defining Abraham’s function within it.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 2
  • Establishment: 1

Atlas pages that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Places of use

  • State and Society, p. 137: He uses it to prove that the House existed before Abraham, and therefore Abraham’s role was refinement and purification, not foundation.
    • Concept: the prior existence of the House
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: “And by analyzing them in light of His — Exalted is He — saying: {Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants …} (Abraham 37), we understand beyond any doubt that the ancient Sacred House existed before Abraham’s arrival”
  • State and Society: He includes it together with al-Baqarah 125 and 127 to conclude that the Sacred House existed before Abraham and that settling his descendants was at an already existing House.
    • Concept: the Sacred House
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: “{Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your Sacred House} (Abraham 37)”
  • The Qur’anic Narrative, vol. 2, p. 8: He builds on it to conclude that the Sacred House had existed in an arid and inhabited valley before the period of occupation mentioned later.
    • Concept: the Sacred House
    • Function of the verse here: Establishment
    • Textual evidence: “And we read His saying { Our Lord, indeed I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley…} (Abraham 37)”},{
    • The corresponding traditional reading: The exegetes assumed that the House had not existed before and that the foundations were the foundations.

This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas